I forgot to mention a couple of things.Firstly, we also saw some
fantastic mammals including Siamang,the largest & all black gibbon,
Prevost's Squirrel,a red,black & white stunner and Smooth Otter. The
gibbons were feeding in a fruiting fig along with literally dozens of
Fire-tufted Barbets.
The insects in Malaysia are almost as exciting as the birds-there is a
mind-boggling array of butterflies & moths the size of birds,giant
beetles,sausage sized millipedes & centipedes,etc.The reptiles are also
entertaining especially the gecko that barks like a dog.In other words,
even when the birding is slow there's plenty to keep your attention.
Another point worth mentioning is the state of conservation in the
country.So-called progess is of course proceeding at a great pace. Dr.
Mahathir has stated that his aim is for Malaysia to be a developed
country (whatever that is) by 2020 and that the ideal population is 70
million!(currently about 20 million I believe)As a result virtually
everywhere you look something is being built,including plenty of
roads-didn't notice too many people complaining about these!Lots of
housing development but any work on infrastructure ie.
drains,sewerage,parks seems to be sadly lacking.Logging trucks were also
in plague proportions.It will be interesting to see what the future
brings for the country.
Susan Myers
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